The wife of a former commissioner for a King County drainage district has been sentenced in U.S. District Court to three years in prison for scheming to steal tax dollars intended for flood control, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Joann Thomas, 67, of Enumclaw, is the wife of former drainage district Commissioner Allan Thomas. According to federal prosecutors, the Thomases stole more than $465,000 in drainage maintenance tax dollars starting in 2012. The couple were collectively convicted of more than 20 federal felonies in May, including aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
During Friday’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said the Thomases were involved in a seven-year fraud scheme.
During his 35-year tenure as a commissioner for King County Drainage District 5 and 5A, Allan Thomas was responsible for estimating the district’s drainage maintenance costs so the county auditor could set and assess taxes. The commissioners then authorized payment to service providers to do maintenance work on the drainage system.
As early as 2012, Joann Thomas set up a joint business account for a company called A C Services with Allan Thomas’ son, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Over the next six years, Allan Thomas had $413,323 of local tax dollars paid to the bank account, claiming it was for drainage ditch maintenance, according to federal prosecutors.
However, Thomas’ son and a drainage district commissioner testified that very little work had been completed on the drainage ditches.
Financial records admitted at trial show that between 2012 and 2017, shortly after the tax dollars were deposited into A C Services’ account, the money was quickly transferred to other accounts belonging to the Thomases, or was used to pay their expenses for such things as hay, mortgage payments or property taxes. More than $68,000 was withdrawn as cash.
Joann Thomas forged the signatures of Allan Thomas’ son and a second drainage commissioner on various records and checks, according to prosecutors. The couple submitted false documents by mail and wire, and the funds that were fraudulently obtained were then moved through various bank accounts, according to prosecutors.
“Allan and Joann Thomas didn’t just defraud their neighbors by stealing tax dollars, they abused a position of public trust, eroding faith in government,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown in a news release. “The Thomas’ theft caused some 700 neighbors in Enumclaw to pay higher property taxes, which many can ill afford, and for which they got no services.”
In 2018, after the couple became aware of a law enforcement investigation, they began funneling the tax dollars through another company: City Biz. The couple submitted warrants for City Biz to be paid for drainage maintenance work and within days of the funds arriving, nearly all the money was transferred directly to Allan Thomas or the couple’s dairy farm, according to prosecutors.
Joann Thomas was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release. Allan Thomas’ sentencing has been postponed until Feb. 3 because his attorney said he was ill.
Joann Thomas’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In all, the couple defrauded taxpayers of $468,165, the news release said. Judge Jones has asked for briefing on the amount of restitution and has scheduled a hearing to set the amount in early March.
